Ch7 - Not a mute

Du Ci’s guess was on the spot.

After breaking into the study on the front porch, the two couldn’t find any clues or evidence in the pile of letters. 

“Back in prison, did you see the man I brought in? The guy with the big earring?”

Qi Nanke shook his head.

Du Ci held a pile of letters in his hand, the contents in there were all trivial matters. Most importantly, there wasn’t a single letter from the Grand Preceptor. On his side, Qi Nanke pulled out a ledger from under the bookshelf. Du Ci casually flipped through a few pages but didn’t find anything suspicious.

“This magistrate probably falsified the ledger too,” Du Ci said. “If you only look at this account book, he really is a rare upright and honest official who only appeared every hundred years!” 

Qi Nanke looked at him with his eyebrows raised, then used his hand and gestures to ask- do you understand the account book?

Du Ci understood his gestures. He lifted his chin proudly, his nostril hairs flared up to the sky, “I told you I was a businessman. How can I not understand it?”

While the two were searching the room again, Du Ci suddenly muttered, “You look so tall, so rough, so rugged, why are you a mute? I heard the other two called you ‘young master.’ What kind of young master looks like you?”

Qi Nanke: “…”

Qi Nanke looked down at his body, still didn’t see anything wrong with it. In his barracks, the elite soldiers all looked like this. If they were not physically fit and strong enough, how could they fight? The weapon Qi Nanke regularly uses is a treasured sabre forged from cold steel. Its whole blade is a solid black color, and it is so heavy that only a few people can handle it. Wielding such a sword all year round, Qi Nanke’s muscles naturally grew remarkably.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Llr rkbgv, “Qlcv Megs,” mbeiv yf erfv ab jaajmx jcv vfofcv. Ktf uera bo klcv la mgfjafv ktfc atf yijvf rkfqa atgbeut kbeiv yilcv qfbqif’r fsfr, tfcmf atf cjwf.

Dea “Qlcv Megs” kjr abb ojwber. Po tf qjgjvfv jgbecv klat la, la kbeiv gfnfji tlr lvfcalas. Vb Hl Rjcxf tjv kgjqqfv atf rkbgv eq jcv fcagerafv la ab tlr rbivlfgr ab fcafg Ebsji Jlas jmmbgvlcu ab rmtfveif. Qtlif tf gfaegcfv yjgftjcvfv olgra klat akb nlmf ufcfgjir.

Du Ci rummaged through the bookshelf with his back turned towards Qi Nanke, and was totally clueless about the man’s unhappy expression. He continued: “I think your martial art is quite good. Could you be a warrior from jianghu?” 

Qi Nanke: “…”

Du Ci didn’t expect to hear any reply in return and  went on with the one-man show, “Being jianghu’s warrior also has its perk. You’re free to do whatever you want. But how do you earn money? I heard those storytellers say that wherever jianghu warriors go, they always eat and drink in large quantities. Hey, just where did your money come from?

Qi Nanke: “…”

Qi Nanke didn’t expect the little prince to be such a chatterbox. He shook his head helplessly, pulled out more dust-covered ledgers from under the bookcase, and randomly turned a few pages. Just glancing at these ledgers was enough to tell no one had touched them in a long time. 

He stood up and turned around. This study room wasn’t large, and there didn’t seem to be anything useful here.

The little prince also didn’t find anything worthwhile. He disappointedly stood up and patted the ashes off his sleeves, “But your martial art is definitely not as good as my man’s.”

Qi Nanke was dumbfounded.

Seeing Qi Nanke finally look at him, the little prince felt very smug, “What are you looking at? I’m not lying. My man has been a prodigy since he was young. He can use many weapons efficiently, but his favorite is sabre. Do you know “Wind Fury’’? You should have heard of it even if you’re not a soldier. That is my man’s treasured sabre!” 

Qi Nanke stared at Du Ci with a deadpan expression. The little prince clicked his tongue after seeing that cold water response, “Don’t Dasheng allow male wives? So what if I take…ah no, give my hand to a man?”

“Even if you don’t want to believe it, you will have to eventually in the future.” The little prince laughed out loud, with a face full of sweetness, “My man is coming back. He is very handsome. From the first time I saw him, it was love at first sight. He is sure to remember me too!”

Qi Nanke: “…” No, I don’t remember.

The little prince decisively pulled up a chair and sat down, determined to share his old story with the big man in front of him, “We’ll get married when he comes back. He will definitely like me. Who told me to be so good-looking!” 

Qi Nanke tried very hard to hold down a laugh.

The little prince patted the chair lightly, “Are you laughing at me?”

Qi Nanke hurriedly lowered his head and shook it left and right.

The little prince clicked his tongue. Crossing his long legs, he said, “I know you don’t believe me. How can the great general guarding the borders marry me? But it doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not…” 

Saying it up to here, he didn’t forget to poke fun at Qi Nanke’s little heart, “But he won’t be black and dirty as you, one look was enough to scare people out of their wits. Wandering the world with this face, who would believe you were a warrior? They might just mistook you for a robber!”

Qi Nanke subconsciously touched his face, the corners of his mouth twitched.

The little prince felt very happy after letting it all out. He hummed a song and stood up, “Let’s go! This is not their base, we need to change location. Finding that man with the big earring is the priority! He is an important witness!”

But Qi Nanke was motionless. 

When the little prince walked past him and was about to pull the door, Qi Nanke suddenly captured him and pressed him against the wall. One hand grabbed his wrists, the other went and fetched out a yellow letter from the little prince’s sleeve.

Du Ci’s complacent expression instantly morphed.

Du Ci thought he had successfully distracted the other party. He even deliberately humiliated that person’s appearance and used the chance when he didn’t pay attention, to sneakily hid the letter in his sleeve. He didn’t expect this big man have found out a long time ago!

Du Ci’s face darkened, “Very good, turns out you have been waiting!” 

Qi Nanke’s mouth corner rose slightly. He opened the letter. Inside, there was only a plum flower seal and a “Du” inscription signed at the end.

Qi Nanke held the letter up. Staring at Du Ci deeply, he spoke, “What is this?”

Du Ci: “…”

Dude Ci suddenly made a fuss, “Weren’t you a mute?!”